Tag Archives: Heimat: A Critical Theory of the German Idea of Homeland” and “Maria Beig und die Kunst der scheinbarne Kunstlosignkeit

German professor publishes second work of fiction

German professor Peter Blickle publishes his second novel, "Von einer Lieve zur andern".

WMU’s Dr. Peter Blickle, professor of foreign languages, is once again being recognized for his way with words. Blickle has received much acclaim for his second work of fiction, “Von einer Liebe zur andern” (“From Love to Love”).

Blickle, who teaches German at WMU and serves as an advisor for the German program, is the author of two scholarly books, “Heimat: A Critical Theory of the German Idea of Homeland” and “Maria Beig und die Kunst der scheinbarnen Kunstlosigkeit” (“Maria Berg and the Arts of Appearing Primitive)” as well as the novel “Blaulicht im Nebel” (“Ambulance in Fog”). He also translated Rosina Lippi’s novel, “Homestead,” into German.

The novel creates an unlikely relationship between a literature professor from Germany’s upper Swabia and an American-Jewish violinist. The relationship serves as a counterbalance to German history and gives his story “scenic images and rich metaphors of language often purposefully and eloquently mysterious in their tension and struggle.”

This novel has already received acclaim in Germany – most notably through a reading invitation, shortly after the novel was published. Dr. Blickle read from his novel on October 18, 2011 to a full house, a mesmerized audience in the medieval city of Pfullendorf in southern Germany.

The reading was organized by the Forum of the Sigmaringen Cultural Circle as part of its series on modern literature in the region. Several newspapers reviewed the presentation, reporting that Blickle “cast a spell over the audience” and that available copies of Dr. Blickle’s novel sold out quickly.

The author explains that his latest novel is about love and its various qualities. Soon, the reader also realizes it is a novel deeply rooted in German history and in the human soul, written in sentence fragments, prompting more questions than answers, in, as one reviewer notes, a sort of Hemingway approach.

Links:
Department of Foreign Languages
About Peter Blickle